PICS! Econo Car conversion to Kubota Diesel. 1997 Geo Metro, Kubota D1005 3 cylinder

[elhigh]

I'm really enjoying this thread.

Man, you are quick off the mark. You've only had the car three weeks. "Well, that engine is cooked, let's shove a compact tractor engine under the hood and use that!"

[planejob]

Originally Posted by planejob

The project is going to stall until October 31. I've got to travel for work and will not be able to fiddle with the spanners.

I fibbed a little, I guess. I still have to study, and travel, but the aluminum plate came in today. I don't have a lot of time to get started on the engine mounting holes but I did set the plate on top of both components, the engine and tranny, to confirm that the plate is the right size.



As I mentioned earlier, I plan to leave the bottom of the bellhousing open to provide access to the torque converter bolts. The adapter plate will line up with the bottom of the engine block -you can see the engine block outline in the paint on the adapter:

[planejob]

I'm such a liar. I totally skipped out on studying today and went to the junkyard with my neighbor.

The online parts inventory said they had 2 metros. I got there and both were autos. They did have the little trim piece I needed, and the driver's side mirror.

As we are walking out I ask the guy if they have any Metros not on the inventory or recently put out. He says, "Yeah, we have one out there, a 1998 metro, row 70, it's been there for 4 months so it's probably pretty well stripped, we're gonna crush it soon if they didn't already..."

Aside from the timing belt cover and all four wheels NOTHING was missing. It appeared the engine suffered some catastrophic timing failure (seized), but the tranny, shifter, center console, etc. was all there.

My wallet is slightly lighter, but I have a manual swap "kit" of sorts sitting in the garage!

[changzuki]

Good find with the manual transmission!
Playing hookey can be worth it!

~CrazyJerry

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

So now that you have a 5-speed manual laying around, are you still considering to use the 3-speed automatic? Remember, with an engine that has such a low output the performance and fuel-efficiency penalty of the automatic will be higher...

[planejob]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

So now that you have a 5-speed manual laying around, are you still considering to use the 3-speed automatic? Remember, with an engine that has such a low output the performance and fuel-efficiency penalty of the automatic will be higher...

I have options. They both mount the same.

That is, they mate to each other the same.

I've transferred over all of the bolt holes from the Kubota mount to the aluminum, and have started getting the center of the aluminum cut out- - I lack the proper tools so I'm doing it with a drill bit and a grinder - NOT FUN.

[Varn]

Neat project
How do you think the gearing will work out. Many of those industrial diesel engines are maxed out about 3000-3600j rpm

[Mr. Previa]

Nice conversion. The diesel will be nice. I did actually "capture a unicorn" as some one mentioned earlier by running an engine from just gasoline vapors. LOL

I miss my Geo and I hope your get yours purring! I will be tuning in!

Take care,

[Mr. Previa]

BTW, you can shift the tranny with a bad TCM. Mine went out on mine. I replaced it for ~$20. I found a used one from my local Pull-A-Part.

Originally Posted by planejob

Ok, today I pulled the transmission so I can match the Kubota to the tranny.

I've got the engine plate coming this way (courtesy of eBay) and a plan to mate the two - thanks to some of the past posts from Kimer6.

From what I've read, when the auto tranny TCM fails you can still manually **** the tranny - folks, I'd love some input here. If I hook up the auto tranny with all of the mechanical connections (that's 2 total; the Gear shift and the kick down) will I be able to manually shift from first up to third - or- will it be a piece of junk that stays stuck in third? What's the failure mode of these slush boxes?

thanks in advance.

P.S. Aluminum has been ordered for the adapter plate. Woohoo. this is moving along nicely.

[kimer6]

Great job!

The drawbacks...darned generator engine is set to 1800 RPM. I messed with governor springs to get 3600. The injection timing is fixed...by shims...and has no advance mechanism like in car diesels. Tolerable but not ideal. Under certain load conditions the fuel rack will go wide open...and the little Metro will roll coal like a tweaked Cummins with a hot rod chip...huge black cloud right in front of the cops.

I was going to add a piece...fuel integrator of sorts... from a turbo Kubota that helped limit the fuel rack under certain conditions but it never happened. The other thing I thought about doing was to link the fuel rack right to the throttle cable with no direct connection to the governor. My foot would limit the total amount of fuel and keep smoke to a minimum.

After all was said and done, the car with 5 speed was a pleasure from 30 to 50mph on back woods roads with a few hills. It was downright dangerous on the freeway when I came to my first major hill. 65 was possible on flat lands.

Driving was weird with the governor. You could take off and floor it in first and then it hit a flat spot where it just would not rev any more. It was like you hit the brakes. But leave it floored, push in the clutch and grab second, let out, and it would accelerate again until it hit the governor. Very odd. Good for smiles.

I have a small KKK turbo on my turbo/blower shelf and MAYBE I will plumb it in some day. You described it best...100 ideas, 3 projects, never finished. I am wanting to make a rat rod truck with my Detroit 3-53 marine diesel. The same engine was going to be a trailer mounted margarita mixer but I think cruising Pismo Beach in a rat truck will be the proper path.

Need a skid plate for that Kubota oil pan, it hangs a little low, and also move the oil filter to the left front of the block as the right axle goes dead center through the filter as it sits. The in-tank fuel pump works fine but you need to flush out ALL of the gasoline in the tank, make a bonfire, and put fresh diesel in the tank. Run the fuel feed line from the tank into a tee with one leg to the engine fuel lift pump and the other line to the return line to the tank so it won't overload the in-tank pump.

Keep up the good work.